Instead of heading straight for the MacBooks and 4K TVs, buy all the less expensive items on your holiday shopping list first. It stops you from having a distorted perception of value, researchers say.

Once you shell out for something costly, your brain loses perspective on what's a good price, says Scott Huettel, an associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University, in Durham, North Carolina. So once you've paid $250 for a PlayStation 3, doling out $40 instead of $30 for a Lego set may no longer faze you.

The full post at Real Simple has some other cool tips on avoiding spending too much. For example, try not to go to attractive salespersons as studies suggest you are more likely to find them trustworthy.